A majority of Comcast’s customers lease modems from the company, and effective last month, that monthly charge went from $3 to $5.

Officially, Comcast says the increase is related to its technology upgrades.

“We continually invest in providing customers with next-generation equipment and technology that delivers advanced Internet services with enhanced capabilities,” said spokeswoman Cindy Parsons. “Our costs for this new equipment will increase by 167 percent over the next two years. As a result, we have increased the modem equipment charges by $2. Even with this adjustment, Comcast is competitively priced and still charges less than virtually everyone else.”

John Malone’s Liberty Media announced Tuesday that former HBO CEO Chris Albrecht will take over as president and CEO of Douglas County-based Starz LLC on Jan. 1. Under Albrecht’s leadership, HBO scored numerous hit shows, including Entourage (pictured). In a phone interview with me Tuesday afternoon, Albrecht addressed questions about original programming, where he’ll be based and speculation that his appointment may lead to a relocation of resources from the Denver area to L.A.

What are your plans or goals for Starz?

The pay-TV category, which I know really well, is an exciting category. I think HBO and Showtime have both established themselves as brands with a clear identity. I think that Starz, which was known primarily as a movie service, has been trying to find that niche for itself in the category. The primary goal is to make sure that we take Starz and develop it into a brand that differentiates itself from the other pay services…

We’ve got Sony and Disney studios exclusively, so that’s a differentiator right there in terms of the theatrical output that you have. But in these days, it’s very competitive out there for people’s discretionary money and time, and we want to make sure that we’re a valuable brand to the cable, satellite and telco guys as well as to the consumers. I think we’ve got some work to do in finding what that point of view is for the network and making sure we’ve got the assets to deliver on that point of view.

Will that necessarily mean an increase in original programming?

Starz was going in that direction anyway. They were increasing the amount of original programming that they were doing. I can’t say that it’s going to be more or less. The point is come up with a strategy, look at the assets that you have and fill in what you need to complete the job.

Certainly, original programming is a great way to differentiate yourself Read more…

Emilie Rusch covers retail and commercial real estate for The Post. A Wisconsin native and Mizzou graduate, she moved to Colorado in 2012. Before that, she worked at a small daily newspaper in South Dakota. It's the one with Mount Rushmore.